New Internationalist

Ruth WALTON

An educational resource to help children explore the issue of fair trade by allowing them to see through the eyes of the children of banana farmers in the Windward Islands. The author spent time with the farmers’ families and she uses the real-life narratives of two young children going about their daily activities to show how bananas grow, problems such as hurricanes which can affect the crop, how they are picked and transported and how they end up in our stores.

The main story is illustrated with colorful collages made from painted textures and photographs from the Islands. Interspersed in the story are boxes with maps, facts and photos giving more detail on the places and methods and challenges. Its ends with banana recipes and ’bigger picture’ descriptions, maps and photos of where bananas come from and examples of social premium funded projects.

With plenty of points for discussion Juliana’s Bananas will give girls and boys an insight into the lives of children like them in the Caribbean and how fair trade premiums help communities all over the world build better living conditions.

Ruth WALTON is skilled in many areas of book design, including illustration, layout and typography. She produces educational books using a combination of letterpress, illustration, collage and photography. She illustrated the « Let’s Find Out series » for Franklin WATTS.

September 2014 - pages : 32 - 212 x 178 mm (landscape) - price : £8.99 / £9.95 - ISBN : 978-1-78026-1-805 (eBook ISBN : 978-1-78026-181-2)

Richard SWIFT

An investigation of the alternatives to capitalism, including socialism, anarchism and deep ecology.

Financial collapse and crisis ; disgust at bankers’ greed ; the devastating effects of yawning inequality : all these and more have led to widespread dissatisfaction and disenchantment with capitalism. people are crying out for an alternative but are continually told that one does not exist.

Richard SWIFT proves this to be wrong with style and assurance. With capitalism vulnerable and out-of-step in the wake of financial crises this book investigates the alternatives that are on offer - including socialism, social democracy, anarchism, ecology and degrowth.

Combining the practical with the visionary, he shows that finding alternatives to capitalism is no longer an academic issue for the left – it is an urgent planetary necessity.

Richard SWIFT is a former editor of New Internationalist magazine and author of the « No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy ». In 2011 he won the Daniel Singer Millenium Prize for an original essay which helps further socialist ideas.

April 2014 - pages : 208 - 216 x 138 mm (paperback) - price : £9.99 / $16.95 - ISBN : 9781780261706 (eBook ISBN : 978-1-78026-171-3)

Peter HUDSON

The author has been visiting the same village in Mauritania on the remote edge of the Sahara for over twenty years. This is the story of his most recent journey there – an intense and engaging day-by-day account through which global change and inequality are made human.

The Sahel – the ‘shore’ of the Sahara – is where cultures, customs and climates meet, merge and clash. Through the numerous characters we meet and from the obviously deep and sympathetic nature of the relationship the author has with the local people, with whom he now runs agricultural projects, we learn of the realities of life in one of the harshest, most marginalised and but also quietly inspiring corners of the world.

Searingly honest and refreshing, this is a superbly written piece of travel writing about a little-known part of the world. The author gets under the surface and gives a sensitive account of what life is like. He understands not just the culture and complex social dealings but also how economics and geo-political forces that can profoundly affect the lives of individuals in a remote community.

Illustrated with maps and line drawings « Under An African Sky » is a unique journey – for the armchair traveller and those interested in development, climate change and global politics and economics.

Peter HUDSON runs an international development charity based in Mauritania in West Africa. He has travelled widely in the region and has written several books including « Leaf in the Wind », « Travels in Mauritania » and « Two Rivers ».

September 2014 - pages : 240 - 216 x 138 mm (paperback) - price : £9.99 / $16.95 - ISBN : 978-1-78026-178-2 (eBook ISBN : 978-1-78026-179-9)